ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser Review

OS, UI, and Apps

The Laser comes with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop out of the box skinned with ZenUI. It’s easy to navigate and visually enticing, however, it feels a bit clunky and doesn’t feel in-line with Lollipop’s simple Material approach. On the bright side, you can install your favorite launcher and customize it to your liking if you’re not a fan of ZenUI.

ZenUI other features:
* ZenMotion – Touch Gesture, One Hand Mode
* ASUS Cover – allows you to use ZenUI features when using flip cover accessories
* Easy mode – for simple layout and core functions

When it comes to pre-installed apps, the Laser has tons of it. When we check out the apps we need to update after setting up our Google Play Store account, the ZenUi Instant Update prompted us with 31 apps to update. This includes ASUS PixelMaster Camera, ASUS Keyboard, ASUS Calendar, ASUS Launcher, ASUS Messaging, ASUS Gallery, etc. Add to that Clean Master, Dr. Safety, Amazon Kindle, Zinio, 50+ Games!, and Trip Advisor which you cannot uninstall.

ASUS equipped the Laser with 16GB of internal storage. Less the system reserved memory, you only have 10.68GB as usable which is limited. To compensate, it has support for up to 128GB microSD cards as well as USB OTG.

Camera

One of the Laser’s strongest suits is its 13 megapixel camera. It doesn’t sound much on paper but it uses the company’s PixelMaster Technology, dual-tone LED flash, and infrared-based Laser-guided autofocus system found in its other siblings like the Selfie, Max, and Zoom. Before you get excited, let me tell you that it’s not going to compete with high-end camera-centric smartphones like the Xperia Z3, LG G4, Galaxy S6, and iPhone 6 when it comes to image quality. After all, this is a sub-Php9K device, however, this doesn’t mean the Laser is not a good shooter.

With Laser AF, the Laser has one of the fastest autofocus we’ve experienced in a smartphone. ASUS claims 0.3 second autofocus time. While we cannot really measure that speed, we’d say that it’s rapid especially in bright conditions. It also performs well in low-light like in bars or dimly lit restaurants. If we’re going to compare, it’s significantly faster than the OnePlus 2 which also features Laser AF.

As for quality, resulting images have good details and colors. The 5 megapixel front camera is good for selfies and video calls but don’t expect the same quality you can find in other cameras with dedicated front shooters. The Laser also has quite a lot of in-camera features, just take a look at the screenshot above. As for image and video samples, take a look below.

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: HDR

Sample video: 1080p at 30fps

23 Comments

Marvin Choi says:

9 years ago

Wow… ang konti ng diffrence sa regular version na Zenphone 2 , tapos halos kalahati ang score sa antutu , dahil ba ito sa lumang SoC na yung Snapdragon 410 ?
- Reply
jocone says:

9 years ago

You read Zafon and Zusak. We should be friends. (Totally unrelated comment. Lol)
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Sphayk says:

9 years ago

Sir bakit sa lazada ang ze550kl is 5′ lang at 8mp lang ang camera? Available na ba ang ZE55OKL na 5.5′ na varient sa Ph? What stores that have?
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JAsus says:

9 years ago

Hi! Will the Zenfone 2 Laser recieve an android update with the recent release of Marshmallow? Do you have any news? TIA.
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Anna19 says:

9 years ago

Pangit nga intel sa android. Dami pa rin pala asus zenfone enthusiast maski na bulok ang quality nito pati service center bulok.
- Reply

Ja says:

9 years ago

Ayan. Para lang kasi makapag-comment ng negative. Hays! Magbasa muna mabuti ng review bago mag-reply.
NYX says:

9 years ago

Talaga? Kasing pangit at bulok mo cguro. Anyway, tama lng naman na wag ka nang bumili, nakakasira sa mga products kapagnakitang ikaw ang gumagamit dahil saksakan ka ng pangit.
Abe Olandres says:

9 years ago

This model uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 not Intel.
Mark Anthony says:

9 years ago

ANNA19 : please check the specs. Zenfone 2 Laser is powered by Snapdragon 410. Google din pag may time.

HEISENBERG says:

9 years ago

Available na ba to sa PH Market??
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james says:

9 years ago

Thanks for the awesome tip on the audio settings, now the speakers sound superb!
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tony says:

9 years ago

Is the ZE550KL already out in the market? most of the shops I’ve been to only have the ZE500KL.
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zenth says:

9 years ago

Is the screen size the only difference here between the prices?
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tony says:

9 years ago

ZE550KL has a 3000 mAh battery. The ZE500KL has a smaller one.

Nhettes says:

9 years ago

Hi, which is better ZF2 or ZF laser?
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bigbaldgabz says:

9 years ago

Does this have fast/quick charge function like the other zenfones?
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Mark Anthony says:

9 years ago

Actually, Yes. ZE550KL (5.5) variant has Quick Charging feature by using 18W Fast charger (The Inclusion charger on the box is only normal charger, so you have to purchase 18W fast charger. The smaller ZE500KL (5.0) doesn’t have.
Abe Olandres says:

9 years ago

Nope.

XG says:

9 years ago

May difference ba yung camera ng Laser sa original ZF2, aside sa laser AF? Justifiable ba yung camera quality and performance ng Laser para piliin ito instead yung original? Kasi magdagdag ka lang ng 1k, yung original ZF2 (2GB) with better screen and processor na.
- Reply

angelique says:

9 years ago

panget intel sa android
anon says:

9 years ago

Based sa ibang reviews, pareho yung sensor (Toshiba) and pareho pa din yung image processing.

Habol mo dito sa Zenfone Laser yung imba battery life.

Martin Bernardo says:

9 years ago

Bibili ako nito! Goodluck na naman sa sahod ko.
- Reply

PointBreak says:

9 years ago

Hi Yugatech! Is this variant gonna be available in the PH??? Thanks in advance!

Zenfone 2 Laser 5.5 (Snapdragon 615/3GB) Price: Php 9,995

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